Certain types of fire apparatuses include aerial assemblies. These aerial assemblies typically include a turntable that is rotatably coupled to a chassis of the vehicle, and an aerial ladder assembly that is pivotably coupled to the turntable. The aerial ladder assembly includes multiple sections slidably coupled to one another such that the ladder assembly is extendable over a great distance. Accordingly, the aerial assembly may be actuated to move the distal end of the aerial ladder assembly throughout a working envelope, providing firefighters with access to distant locations that would not otherwise be accessible (e.g., an upper floor of a burning building, etc.).
The aerial ladder assembly is cantilevered off of the turntable. Specifically, a base section of the ladder assembly is pivtoably coupled to the turntable, and the other sections of the aerial ladder assembly are supported by the base section. In some configurations, a work basket is coupled to a distal end of the aerial ladder assembly. The work basket may support the weight of multiple firefighters, their equipment, and the work basket. Accordingly, the aerial ladder assembly can experience extreme bending stresses throughout operation. It is critical that the sections of the aerial ladder assembly are strong enough to withstand these stresses while remaining light enough that the weight of the distal sections do not compromise performance of the proximal sections.